Cam posted an article on fire lapping on the "Custom Gun" thread. Really intresting but it made me think. Unless your a competative shooter, how much do you really want to do?

We read about all the things that can be done to make a rifle shoot better and they work for the most part but. what is the real life gain for the non competative shooter? If you neck size cases, seat the bullet preciesly off the lands, square the action, chase the reciever threads, have a tight throat cut, weight each bullet and spin each case; whats the gain for the hunter?

Well you do all that to a rifle that was going 3/4" out of the box and lets say you end up with a 1/4" rifle. Will that really help you kill a deer? What if it's a two inch rifle out of the box and it ends up a one inch rifle?

As the article on fire lapping pointed out, it causes a loss of barrel life. For what purpose? A barrel that shoot's 1/2" rather than 3/4", if you can do your part? From a bench rest you don't take hunting with you?

I really enjoy making a rifle shoot well but think that "well "should be remembered is a realative term.

totaly Agreed. But I think people,for the most part just do it for doing it. Hobby thing I guess. I've only dressed up 2 rifles in my time but each were for competition not hunting (hard to carry a 35+ pound rifle in tha woods) . Bout the only thing I've ever done to my hunting rifles is maybe a custom stock because I have very long forarms so my length of pull is quite long so "stock" stocks dont fit me well and of course bedding jobs

Other than that I havnt seen the need to do anything for my hunting rifles as most all of them were MOA or Sub MOA out of the box which is more than accurate enough for my hunting needs.

Kinda a newbie here, but I agree on the hobby thing! Most guns shoot better than the shooter outa the box. I have hunted deer and elk in Washington around 38years and Have never fired more than 2 shots at an animal, one shot one kill is what my dad taught me. Knowing your limits and your guns is all you need!! The rest is just something to talk about around the campfire. I also shoot the heads off grouse with my ,06 or 308 all factory, Need anything more? I say no.

Anything better than 1 MOA is gravy. I have very rarely seen hunters that can outshoot their rifles in field conditions (yes it can happen). I reload for my hunting rigs to save money and I enjoy it. When I hit the majical 1 MOA I load em up and shoot em up.

Why shucks just this mornin I wuzz sittin out thar on tha back porch wiff a good ole chaw of backer when I saw me a big ole skeeter on my prize bull's back... Why shucks I hollerd at maw to bring me my ole trusty naught 6 cuzz I had me a skeeter to shoot!!! Shore couldnta dun it wiffout my havin all that high doller werk dun on it!!! Dem 200 yard shots on dem thar skeeters shore is gittin kinda hard on my po old eyes tho. I tink I sceert my bull just a smidge... Mighta split a hair.

As a competition shooter who also hunts I can tell you that some things that help with making rifles shoot better work on all rifles and some things are more detail oriented. Shooting tight groups is important in rifles that will be used in target or precision shooting (like matches and prarie dogs). Ordinary hunting rifles just don't need the same attention. If you are shooting at a deer within sensible distances, you don't really need a sub MOA rifle. In fact, it's the first shot that is most important. Many times you won't get a second shot. I think a lot of hunters get hung up on the groups their rifles shoot rather than learning how repeatable the cold bore shot is. If you find that the cold bore shot is in the same place each time you shoot the rifle, use that information to your advantage. That will allow you to make better shot placements and follow up shots will not be needed as much.

I bed all my sporting and target rifles since that is easy and never hurts. I also make sure the stock fits without stressing the barrel or action. I will also adjust the trigger to my liking. That is the limit to what I do to hunting rifles accuracy wise. The target rifles get quite a bit more attention since matches have won and lost on fractions of an inch.

Ammo I handload for both hunting and target use. I use the same reloading dies scale, powders, and primers for both. Bullets will be either a hunting bullet or a match bullet. I do not hunt with match bullets. I do not neck turn cases or drill flash holes on hunting ammo but do try to keep a consistent trim length and bullet seating depth (limited by magazine length).

Having said all that, I believe the reason a lot of shooters/hunters go through all that is because we enjoy trying to get better performance from our stuff. Much like the way some folks like to tinker with sports cars.

That's really a great point about the cold bore shot - especially with lightweight rifles. I always see people running round after round through a hunting rifle when things aren't going right at the range. They're tired and the rifle is tired and what really needs to be done is to take a break and start over and focus on the one and only shot that really should matter (but still practice the follow ups!!!).

But I digress from Don's original question, and I guess it boils down to human nature to always tinker with things. I personally go for good reloads (same case length, decent brass, quality bullets but nothing fancy beyond that) and a well built rifle but nothing out of the ordinary. I do think that the American quest for accuracy - albeit somewhat obssesive sometimes - is a good thing in the fact that it has driven the manufacturers to produce some darn fine factory rifles.

Nothing wrong with hobbies, if gun "doodling" trips your trigger, BUT, for general hunting, I have usually been totally satisfied with accuracy right out of the box. My biggest complaint for accuracy has usually been inconsistant factory ammunition. Years ago, Winchester bullets would fly as good as Remington, or Federals, or whatever. Now, it seems that you have to find the bullets that your gun actually likes, and this could simply be a lot number of production(one lot of same ammo might be different). When I find ammo that I think is dead on the money, I will tear the flap off of the box, and go back to the store for another box from the same lot#. And, I really like those old Remington model 788's and 700's for accuracy, also.

In the darkness, the hunter stumbles through the underbrush, making noise and leaving his scent seemingly EVERYWHERE!
Daylight will be here in 30 minutes and he wanted to be in the stand an hour before daylight.
"I know I left that stand RIGHT in this area last night," he mutters under his breath, "but where is it now?"
He traipses back and forth in a zig zag pattern, getting himself overheated and sweaty, but never finding the stand he left there the previous evening – and eventually sits on a...